Ten Essential Things To Keep In Mind When Pricing Your Home To Sell

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Of all the essential things that will need to be done when you embark on the process of selling your home, knowing where you stand in terms of price is quite possibly the most important. Too many homeowners make the mistake of inaccurately pricing their home, mainly because they lack a true understanding of the market or what should be the ideal scenario in their own case. Keeping these tips in mind as you decide what the selling price of your home should be will undoubtedly benefit you in the long run.

1 . Use online tools and calculators to help assist you in determining the fair market value of your home and others in the vicinity. By fully researching all the variables that go into the vale of a property, the edge gained will be invaluable. Examples of useful sites arewww.trulia.com, www.realtor.com, www.yahoorealestate.com and www.zillow.com.

2. Conduct a Competitive Market Analysis, whether by using the services of your real estate agent or relying on an appraiser. Gaining independent appraisals or having a CMA done on your home before putting a property on the market are key success-leading factors in pricing your home accurately.

3. Think like a buyer. By adopting the mindset of a buyer, you will leverage the things in your home that would matter most to potential buyers. An important part of this is to remove the emotion out of the sale. Rather than focus on things that may have emotional importance you to, such as the granite countertops in your master bathroom, for example, keeping your eye on the ball for the major things that buyers would appreciate like a 3-car garage or a large yard, will help you determine a more appropriate price range.

4.  Look beyond the comparable features. Rather than hone in on things that are standard, consider the unique aspects of your home, whether good or bad – and price accordingly. Is the property located near a busy intersection? Are there power lines nearby? Is the neighborhood school system a good one? Looking beyond comparable items will allow you to dig deeper and evaluate the price based on truly unique items.

5. Know your local market. When you study and are aware of the statistics not only in your neighborhood but the local area in terms of the supply of homes percentages, number of foreclosures and short sales and other important data, you will be in a far better position to place your properties price to stand out from the competition.

6. Set a fair price. Be realistic and once you have done all your homework, completed the needed research to determine market trends and property values, the condition of your property and what buyers are paying these days for similar homes, decide on a number. Taking all emotion out of the equation, be ready to accept that anything achieved above your number will be an added bonus and anything below is a part of the process that comes with selling your home.

7. Price ahead of the curve. When the market was on an upward trend in 2001-2006, sellers could price their homes at higher than normal price and the market would eventually catch up to them. Given the current downward market, it’s the exact opposite. If you do not price properties slightly below fair market value you end up chasing the market down, resulting in a constant price reduction maneuver. Today’s sellers are finding it advantageous to price their property one or two percent below fair market value to be ahead of the curve.

8. Sweeten the deal. Throw in fringe benefits that will really make your home stand out from the rest when buyers consider their best choice. Whether you offer owner financing, the inclusion of six month’s paid homeowners’ insurance dues or even strike a deal involving the sale of all or some of your furniture. When you offer extra benefits to a potential buyer, those often end up being the “make it or break it” factor.

9. Less is sometimes more. Contrary to what it may seem, homes which have been priced 5-8% below the market price tend to generate multiple bids – in fact, banks will many times underprice their properties to create bidding wars with potential buyers. Keeping in mind that you face the possibility of losing a small amount off the top, the more inherent benefit of pricing below the market is that you can get multiple bids and get that property bid up above asking price.

10. Fix-ups add value. No matter what you choose to do, to what extent and how much you spend – any attention given to sprucing up your existing property will significantly enhance your leverage in assigning a more premium price to the sale. Anything from landscaping enhancements to steam cleansing of carpets, removing cobwebs and even applying a fresh coat of paint – all these actions ultimately work toward a higher asking price of your home.
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For some homeowners, a few of these tips prove invaluable while for others, all of those mentioned are pivotal in helping them assess your property’s selling value. It’s important that you look at your situation, your own neighborhood, the market in your local and regional vicinity – and based on these factors further fine-tune the advice we’ve given here. At the end of the day, you will gain the advantage of differentiating your property from that of the competition. Ultimately, you’ll find it easier to arrive at a figure when you have the guiding hand of these useful insights gained from years of real estate experts’ experience.

Why Buying Now Holds the Secret to Years of Lasting Happiness in Your Life

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Almost anyone can buy a home – and these days, most everyone wants to, given the historically low mortgage rates and the very low home prices.  But buying in a way that proves successful on a long-term basis, however, is what differentiates those who end up with lasting happiness and prosperity throughout their life from those who just own a big house.  Since doing anything for the right reasons is a far better approach, it’s a valuable lesson to understand what your motivation should be for buying a home.  In this article, we outline the difference between buying for the sake of having material possession versus buying to enjoy life and provide for your family.

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer considering a new home, someone who has suffered a short sale but are ready to rebuild and become a homeowner again, or an investor – this message applies to you.

Why Buy Now?

Click on this link to see how interest rates have fared during the last several months, few years, a decade and longer.  The further back you go, the more astounding today’s rates seem.  For many of us in the real estate industry the current rates that hover around the 3s and 4s (percentage points) are unprecedented!  

The Secret to Lasting Home Buying Success
But here is the big secret to lasting health, happiness and yes, even wealth:  if you buy your home for the right reason, you will be able to live happier in it.  Buying your home based on whether or not you can afford the monthly payments is a big mistake.  Buying your home with the intent to be able to pay it off as soon as possible so that you can live free of a mortgage payment – THAT is success!  Imagine what you can do with all that extra cash each and every month.  You can treat your family on vacations, buy a new car every few years, pay for the kids’ college and live guilt-free as you build your wealth while at the same time living happily, in a paid-off home.  

Can Anyone Buy a Home Using This Principal?

Yes!  As long as you buy a home that is within the realm of your capability to manage it, then you can buy a house.  I do not suggest investing in a property that is bigger than you need or better than you need, just so that you can keep up with the Joneses.  By choosing a property that you can realistically pay off within 20 years instead of the 30-year term that you will most likely get for your mortgage, you are doing yourself and your family a huge favor.  This is a concept that nationally syndicated radio talk show host and financial expertDave Ramsey highly advocates.  In a bad economy or even worse economic conditions than today’s, the Joneses would find themselves looking at a short sale or foreclosure while you and your family would count on securely living in a mostly or fully paid off home.

Why Is This Principal So Spectacular?

As simple and rudimentary as it is, buying a home and going into debt within your means is a concept that is becoming more and more obsolete.  Where here we are talking about choosing a home that is reasonable and not overboard, most people believe that buying a home based solely on the monthly payment amount and the seeming affordability of that payment, without regard for anything but how big the house is.  Though very basic and nothing new, the simple idea that one should buy within their means with the full intent to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible is one that will open up many new doors in the future.

The Single Best Way to Shorten Your Loan Term

Even if you do not earn a very large paycheck, the key to paying off your mortgage sooner and to shave off years (not to mention tens of thousands of dollars) from the term is to chip away in small increments, month after month after month.  By making extra payments, no matter what amount you can handle, you will be tackling your principal impacting the amount you owe in a significant way.  To demonstrate just how significant the time and monetary savings are by doing this, input your estimated or existing mortgage payment information into this calculator that factors extra payments and shows the entire repayment schedule.  

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You cannot afford to miss this opportunity to free yourself and your family from what could be years of mortgage captivity if you get locked into future, much higher rates or worse – unable to secure a mortgage on a home.  For more information or a customized consultation, visit your Realtor.

Are Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payments Worth the Time and Effort?

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In most cases, yes! It’s essentially a process by which you make extra payments on your mortgage. That way, you save interest costs and pay off the loan faster.

How Does It Work?

You make a payment to your lender every two weeks instead of once a month. This means that each payment is equal to half of the monthly amount due. The result – you’re paying the equivalent of 13 full payments rather than the usual 12.

It gets even better! The full amount of the extra payment is applied toward the principal. And because the principal balance is the amount on which interest is calculated, paying down principal results in a reduction in accrued interest!

Let’s look a traditional payment monthly schedule vs. a bi-weekly schedule so you can see exactly how it works.

Example 1: Traditional monthly payments

Let’s assume you have a loan balance of $250,000 with a 6 percent interest rate and a 30-year loan term. In this example, your monthly payments are $1,498.88. So, over the life of the loan, you’d pay a total interest of about $289,595.

Example 2: Bi-weekly payments

Using the same loan balance and terms described above, the difference would be the following:

• $749.44 paid every two weeks

• About $225,490 paid in total interest

• This results in a savings of more than $64,000 in interest!

• In addition, the loan is paid off in 24 rather than 30 years

Bi-monthly payments are still a good strategy if you’re an individual who doesn’t plan to keep your house for 24 or 30 years. Why? Because bi-weekly payments still reduce principle, even over a short period of time.

For example, in the first year, the principle is reduced by nearly $1,600. And, at the end of the fifth year, the principle amount has been reduced by about $9,000!

How Do I Arrange Bi-Weekly Payments?

The first task is to contact lenders to find out if they do offer a bi-weekly payment schedule.

If they offer one, ask what the participation requirements are. In typical situations, lenders require you to have payments automatically withdrawn from your bank account since they dislike processing checks every two weeks.

Often, it’s the case that a one-time fee is charged for this service. The fee can be minimal or be in the several-hundred-dollar range, depending on the lender.

So, after all these benefits, how can there possibly be disadvantages to bi-weekly mortgage payments?

Well, the first disadvantage relates to a situation I mentioned above - the lender’s fee is very expensive for the service provided. In such a case, the costs may outweigh or cut down your overall savings.

A second disadvantage occurs when paying bi-weekly is too hard on your budget. Upfront, you need to make sure that you have the money available for the increased payments.

The final potential disadvantage relates to the length of time you plan to stay in your home. That can affect your overall savings on interest.

I recommend that you weigh the pros and cons of bi-weekly mortgage payments by using one of the many online calculators. Just enter your numbers and the calculator will give you a comparison.

If you’d like the assistance of an expert on the subject, contact us immediately!